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Ornithology
Due to a major collections renovation, the Ornithology Department will be closed to loans and visitors until approximately September 2027.
Ornithology, the study of birds, is one of the founding disciplines of the Natural History Museum. At the core of the program is a research collection of 121,000 bird specimens, representing over 5,400 species. Our collections are particularly strong for North America, Africa, South America, and the Pacific Ocean. The bird skeleton collection, representing over 17,000 individuals, is among the three largest in western North American and is an important resource for the museum’s well-known studies of fossil birds.
Research
- Study skins: can be used for studying coloration, getting DNA, morphology, stable isotopes, parasites, molt, reproduction
- Skeletons: morphology, references for paleo work and zooarchaeological (including functional anatomy)
- Data: localities can reflect distributions in time and space
- Tissue collection: resource for different types of molecular studies
- We are also a resource for field guide illustrators and fine artists
Resources
Birds of LA County
Birds of Exposition Park
SEARch our Collections
The ornithology collection can be searched online through VertNet, iDigBio, or GBIF. Our institution code is LACM and our collection code is Birds.
Our Staff
Postdoctoral Researcher, Ornithology
Jenna McCullough, Ph.D.
Jenna is an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow studying bird plumage.
Assistant Collections Manager, Ornithology
Madison Quiram
Madison works on various projects in the bird collection.
Collections Manager, Ornithology
Juliana Soto Patiño
Juli manages NHM's extensive bird collection, including loans and research visits.
Associate Curator, Ornithology
Allison J. Shultz, Ph.D.
Allison is an ornithologist who integrates research across evolutionary timescales to gain an understanding of the processes that produce the patterns of biodiversity.
Graduate Student, Ornithology
Maeve Secor
Maeve is a Ph.D. student at USC and a graduate student-in-residence in Ornithology, working with Allison Shultz.
Curator Emeritus, Ornithology
Kenneth Campbell, Ph.D.
Dr. Campbell began his tenure at the Natural History Museum in 1977 as one of two curators to fill staff positions for the newly opened George C. Page Museum, a satellite facility of the Natural History Museum.
CONTACT US
Questions? Contact us at birds@nhm.org.
Stories about Birds
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